The Child
by AFEMB
Summary: This is not an update... yet. To all of you who were reading and enjoying this story I apologize for the lack of speed in my updates. You see I'm just making the big transition from high school to college and haven't had much time lately. Don't worry t
1. Chapter 1

Standard Disclaimer: All These characters belong to Ubisoft, of course. I didn't design any of them except for taking the liberty to name Jade's parents. Please enjoy it.

* * *

**Chapter One**

Iris found nothing to be more relaxing or more pleasurable than sitting and looking at her baby girl, sound asleep. She sat holding the child close to her breast and stroked her short black hair. Whether she was talking to her or singing to her not even Iris knew. She was so enraptured by the helpless and trusting little girl in her arms that she payed no attention to her own actions.

Iris found she could sit for hours, never moving except for the gentle caressing motions of her hands. Time was never a great concern to Iris for she had no sense of its ceaseless passage as she sat with her daughter.

The baby stirred from her slumber and looked up at her mother. It didn't matter how many times she did this, her shockingly deep green eyes always startled Iris. The baby's gaze gripped at her heart. It was the colour of her eyes that gave the child her name.

"Jade." Iris mumbled to herself. She loved the child with every ounce in her body. "My precious Jade, I love you so much." Jade, being only six months old, could not possibly comprehend what her mother was saying. Yet there was something that Iris saw in the infant's shining eyes, some level of understanding. "I know you love me too." she said, "You're so smart honey. You really are such a special little girl." This was not just the talk of a mother in love with her child. There really was something special about Jade; something different that set her apart from others, a great power and also a great curse.

"It's a terrible burden, I know. They'll never stop hunting you for it, baby," Iris continued stroking the child's head, "but you have nothing to worry about. Mommy and Daddy both love you so much. We'll never let them hurt you. That's a promise."

Jade nestled back into her mother and fell asleep again. Iris continued stroking her baby's jet-black hair, which she inherited from her mother. Iris's hair flowed down over her shoulders in long waves of the deepest black. Jade's father, Mytch, had blonde hair. Jade's eyes however, were unique to herself as Mytch had blue eyes and Iris, being of Earth Asian decent, had deep brown eyes. Jade's eyes were simply another sign that there was something wonderful about the baby, something special buried deep within the infant.

Iris stood up and carefully placed the baby back into her crib as if she were laying some ancient treasure back into its chest. She bent down and placed a tender kiss on Jade's forehead. "Sleep tight sweetie." Iris said, "I'm just going to see what Daddy and Uncle Pey'j are up to."

Iris stopped before she went out the door. She turned to look at Jade once more. There are many kinds of love: the love one can have for something inanimate, or a certain kind of food, a love that people can share with a close pet. Also, a love that people can have for each other, whether it is the love of two friends or the closer, more intimate kind that two lovers share. However, none of these kinds of love come close to the strength of the love of a mother for her child. No feeling or human emotion is stronger and Iris arguably felt it more so than any other mother before her. Iris sighed happily and turned the lights low for her child, then she pulled the door shut behind her.

Jade opened her eyes and watched her mother leave the room. For a brief moment, as the door slid shut with a quiet click, her eyes lit up in a brilliant flash, but then Jade shifted and the light faded. Putting her thumb into her mouth, Jade's eyelids drooped and she fell asleep once more.

· · ·

Mytch tapped furiously away at his computer terminal. The radio was blasting in the background but he payed it no attention, he was lost completely in thought. Mytch had spent many sleepless nights on his computer trying to work out all the kinks in the computer system for the Beluga, his spacecraft. He was having trouble getting the computer to equalize fuel injection into the twin engines.

Determined to get the Beluga working as soon as possible, Mytch would not stop until he got it working without a hitch.

Iris didn't like this very well and she made sure he knew she didn't. The arguments were always exactly the same. "You're working yourself too hard." she'd say, "You're going to collapse from exhaustion!"

"I'm fine!" Mytch would argue back. "Besides, getting the Beluga up and working takes top priority over all else."

"Not when it comes to your health." Iris always said.

Usually the two would start yelling at each other, but it was never serious. There was a deep understanding between the two of them and while they seemed angry outwardly, inwardly they both knew they loved each other. Iris was only looking out for what was best for her husband and the same was true for Mytch. Getting the Beluga working would mean one more thing to keep her and their beloved Jade safe. That was why he was now staring intently at his computer monitor, thinking hard for a solution to his problem.

He almost had it working, he only needed the onboard computer to work out a balance in fuel consumption on the Beluga's start-up. Once the twin engines were actually running there was no problem. Mytch turned to his assistant, an artificial intelligence he had created, whose handsome holographic face was displayed on a separate monitor. "Secundo, run a diagnostic on this for me would you? I think I'm getting closer."

"No problemo, uno momento señor."

Secundo flashed a grin at Mytch then furrowed his brow in a look of deep concentration. Mytch couldn't help but chuckle at Secundo's behaviour. His outer appearance and personality subroutines had been designed by Iris who thought his assistant needed a little "flair" as she called it. Secundo certainly had a kind of "flair" about him that was for sure.

Secundo spoke up, "Diagnostic complete. Fuel injection ratio is still off by 9.8863014. Sorry boss, but this is mucho closer than last time, no?"

Mytch leaned back in his chair and sighed. "Closer yes, but still not perfect."

"It is most definitely within permissible bounds. Why you need to work yourself to the bone to try to make any more of a difference?" Secundo offered.

Mytch narrowed his eyes at the hologram, "Did Iris tell you to say that?" he asked.

Secundo made a pathetic attempt to look surprised, "What are you talking about? Of course this is my own thought. The señora made no such suggestion to me, I'll tell you that! I say it out of concern for my creator."

Mytch laughed, "Yeah, I'm sure."

"Señor, I'm shocked! You think I lie to you?"

Mytch didn't get a chance to reply, from out in the hangar came a large boom followed by a string of curses. Mytch leapt out of his chair and ran into the adjacent hangar where the Beluga was on a raised platform for working underneath it.

Thick greasy black smoke was pouring out of the right engine and Mytch heard coughing and swearing coming from underneath the platform.

"You damn fool piece o' trash machinery!" came the curses, "Damned thing fallin' to pieces on me like that!" Several large crashes followed the string of curses and Mytch flinched. The curser was beating on the Beluga, he knew.

Mytch could see that there was not a serious problem but the smoke was pretty heavy. He grabbed a fire extinguisher and gave the engine a few blasts to stop the worst of it.

From underneath the platform came another string of curses, "Watch where ya spray that stuff, flagnamit! Ye'll get it all over me!" The foul-mouthed rager climbed out from underneath the platform and stood up.

Mytch laughed out loud, "Pey'j, you're a sight. I don't think you have to worry about getting this on you, you're completely black with filth!"

Pey'j looked down at himself, "Aw shoot, this was one o' my cleaner shirts too!"

Mytch snorted, "They all still smell like a sty to me."

"Why you-" Pey'j began, but then he started to laugh too. Pey'j was a young Sus Sapiens, an alien race that very much resembled Earth pigs. Pey'j was often on the receiving end of many pig jokes.

"I'll be damned if we ever get this blasted thing workin' properly!" Pey'j said, smacking the Beluga on her side. "If it ain't one problem it's another! You get that engine thing worked out yet?"

"No, not yet." Mytch said shrugging, "But don't worry, I will."

"Oh I ain't worried, ye've never let us down yet. I'm jus' sorry I can't be mucha help to ya. I ain't no computer whiz like you are." Pey'j said.

"And I'd be lost in the mechanics of this thing if it weren't for you." Mytch said.

"Ah hell, don't get all fuzzy now, I was jus' sayin'…" Pey'j said. Both Pey'j and Mytch were geniuses in their own fields. There was no piece of machinery that Pey'j couldn't make or fix and there was no computer program Mytch couldn't design. The problem was that neither of them knew anything about each other's trade. That rarely caused a problem, however, as the two of them worked as such a close team.

"You better get cleaned up Pey'j. We'll call it a day for now." Mytch said.

"Yeah, yer prob'ly right. We'll tackle this with a fresh start tomorrow."

The two of them started to head out when Pey'j's floppy ears perked up at the sound of a news report on the radio.

"Newsflash! DomZ attack on Paryya IV!" the radio proclaimed, "P.A.D.F. (Paryyan Anti-DomZ Forces) were quick to respond, driving off the enemy as quick as possible. Thankfully casualties were low."

Pey'j and Mytch exchanged glances. The DomZ? So close? Mytch, Pey'j, Iris and Jade lived on Paryya III, one of six were moons that orbited the planet Paryya. It was impossible for DomZ to be sighted in this remote region of the galaxy! And yet…

"This is the first sighting of the DomZ in the Paryyan system in over five years." the announcer went on, "Should citizens be worried? Head chief of P.A.D.F., Holum Feur, commented on the situation." The voice of Chief Feur cuts in over top of the announcer's, "Citizens of the Paryyan system have nothing to fear. This was an isolated incident, I do not believe the DomZ will be making a come back in this area any time soon." The announcer continues, "Soothing words, but are they the truth? Only time will tell for sure. In this reporter's opinion, citizens shouldn't get too comfortable." The reporter moved on, "In other news, intergalactically-acclaimed pop star Fengo Mints will be performing tomorrow for…" Mytch clicked the radio off and turned to Pey'j who was standing frozen solid in his tracks. The young porcine face was contorted with worry.

After an incredibly long silence, Mytch spoke up, "You don't think that-"

"What? They know she's here? Nah, there's no way they coulda tracked her down that quickly. T'ain't no way in hell." Pey'j's voice was strong with conviction, but the expression on his face betrayed his voice. "Should we tell Iris 'bout all this?" he asked.

"No, it could just be nothing, a small coincidence, that's all." Mytch said, "There's no need to worry her yet if it's not a big problem. We won't tell her."

"Tell me what?" came a voice from behind them.

Both Pey'j and Mytch whirled around and saw Iris standing in the doorway of the hangar.

"Mytch, honey, tell me what?" she said again.

· · ·

The DomZ priest was angry. For the past few months he had carried out an exhaustive search. Shauni, that which he searched for, was more important to him than anything else in the galaxy. He had to find it. But where? That was the question. Where? Where was Shauni? He was quite sure it no longer inhabited that which it had. The prior host was his now, a part of him, flowing within him. He could feel his energy coursing throughout him, giving him life just as thousands of others like him.

For months the DomZ priest had stretched his power to it's utmost peak. He knew if he didn't find the new host soon he might lose it forever. But no, that was not really a problem. He would always be drawn to Shauni, wherever it might end up.

He thought he had it, he felt it, felt it strong. A pull. The feeling. Something only Shauni could cause. He felt it. He knew he did. He was positive it was Shauni. Where? Where? Where was Shauni? Paryya? The Paryya system? Was Shauni there? Was it? The feeling was strong. Yes, he had been sure of it.

The Paryyan system, he had gone. He had willed his loyal DomZ to take him there. They traveled in stealth, always in stealth. That was the way the DomZ worked. Surprise. Yes, surprise worked best. Sneaky sneaky.

He had felt for sure Shauni was on Paryya III. Yes, he felt it. He willed his DomZ down to the surface of the moon. They had done well, they always did. They brought many back to him. They were all a part of him now, keeping him alive. But he was angry. None of them were that which he sought. Why? Where was Shauni? He had been sure of its presence on Paryya. He was never wrong.

At least it wasn't all in vain. He had more to feed him, to stoke the slowly fading fire of his life force. All he needed was Shauni. With it he would not need to live off the lives of others any longer. Nothing but a sickening parasite he'd been reduced to. It sickened him! The injustice that had been done to him made him retch. He was the greatest of all DomZ. The DomZ were clearly meant to be rulers of the galaxy. Those disgusting insolent creatures! How could they do this to their superior?

The DomZ priest was exhausted from stretching his power beyond its limit. He could be angry later, for now he needed to rest.

· · ·


	2. Chapter 2

Pey'j, Mytch and Iris had been great friends since they were kids. They grew up together on Tellin, a beautiful green world that resembled the old Earth. The three of them were in the same class at the same school and were always together wherever they went.

Pey'j, being a Sus Sapiens, was not always treated well by the other kids. The endless slew of names they came up for him were chanted constantly on the playground. "Porky Pig! Porky Pig!" They used to cry. The one that Pey'j hated the most was when he'd walk by and the kids would sniff the air and say, "Is that bacon?" It bothered him then, but he had two good friends who would always stick up for him.

Mytch and Iris would never allow the jeering brats to get away with it whenever they heard them. They always had a smart reply to the taunts. They'd always turn to Pey'j afterwards and say, "You don't have to put up with that Pey'j. Stand up for yourself; be tough!" Pey'j was a shy kid and could never imagine being able to do what they said. That changed one day when one of the kids took it too far.

Both Mytch and Iris were away for the day and Pey'j was left by himself on the playground. Kile Denkurs, one of the worst of Pey'j's taunters, approached him with a sly grin across his pudgy face.

"Hey Pig!" he said, "I got somethin' to show ya, it's really cool!"

Pey'j knew better, he knew not to trust Kile. However, in spite of that he still found himself saying, "Oh really? What is it?"

Kile's sneaky grin widened. "Oh you'll have to see, it's just to cool to say!" He headed off towards the jungle gym, "Come on!" he called back.

Pey'j knew something was up, he usually did. Yet he always managed to fall for their pranks. He really didn't want to go, but he followed Kile anyway. When they arrived at the jungle gym, Kile pointed down underneath a tall bridge portion.

"There!" he said, giggling, "It's under there, you'll love it." Kile was barely able to contain his laughter.

Pey'j took two steps under the bridge. "I don't see any-" he began but stopped when something cold and wet slopped down onto his head. Pey'j looked up and realized that a bunch of kids on the bridge had poured something on him. He jumped back and there was a roar of laughter on the playground. Some of the liquid seeped down into Pey'j's mouth. It was barbeque sauce.

"Porky Pig! Porky Pig!" Kile began behind him. Soon the whole playground was chanting it. "Porky Pig! Porky Pig!" Kile's screechy voice carried over the crowd and Pey'j turned to him.

"Mmmmm!" Kile jeered, "You'll be extra tasty now Porky!" He then collapsed in a fit of laughter.

Pey'j couldn't believe it, this was the worst they had ever done to him. He was about to cry and run away when the voices of both Mytch and Iris came into his head. "Don't take that from him Pey'j! You're better than that so stand up for yourself!" You can only throw so many stones at a beehive before you get stung. Something clicked inside Pey'j, he no longer felt humiliated, he was angry.

Pey'j took a deep breath, wiped sauce from his eyes and then leapt at Kile who was still doubled over in laughter. Kile didn't know what was happening at first, Pey'j was on him so quickly. Pey'j clenched his fist and hit Kile in his smug face. Then he hit him again and again and again. No one moved to try to pull Pey'j off, they were all shocked at what they saw and also at what they heard. Pey'j didn't even realize he was doing it, he didn't know where they came from or where he'd heard them but there was a string of curses coming out of Pey'j's mouth that would turn the devil's hair white.

Finally someone ran to get a teacher and Pey'j was pulled off Kile. He was in a lot of trouble but Pey'j didn't care, it had been worth it. Mytch was impressed but Iris was not. "When I said stick up for yourself, that's not what I meant…" she had said. Kile had a broken nose and two black eyes, he never teased Pey'j again, no one did. Pey'j had changed.

The three of them carried on as best friends right through secondary school when something horrible happened. The DomZ came to Tellin.

It was an attack completely without warning. DomZ meteors poured out of the sky and pelted the entire planet. Cities were in ruins and the Anti-DomZ forces on Tellin were slow to react. Countless individuals were taken away in the DomZ Sarcophagus' to God knows where to be drained of their life force. Once someone was taken by the DomZ, they were never seen again.

Pey'j, Mytch and Iris managed to escape the slaughter on one of the few emergency transport shuttles that made it off of Tellin. None of their parents did though. The three of them were left on their own.

They moved together to a remote settlement on Paryya III. Pey'j earned a small income doing mechanical work, something he had developed a knack for. Through all of the chaos, Mytch and Iris were drawn together and eventually married.

They carried on like this for a few years, always on edge about reports of DomZ attacks. Then something extraordinary happened, Iris became pregnant. It was wonderful news for them all.

Five months into her pregnancy, she was contacted by an anti-DomZ group who had a proposition for her. They came in utmost secrecy and spoke to Iris in private. She had sworn to keep the meeting secret to anyone, however she kept no secrets from Mytch and Pey'j and they were allowed to have been filled in as well. It was a hard decision to make, however the three of them harboured such a deep-seeded hatred for the DomZ they agreed to the proposition in the end.

When Jade was born, Pey'j was immediately named her Godfather. All three of them were willing to do anything to protect Jade from the DomZ.

Now Pey'j watched Iris from across the table, she was holding the child close to her chest. Her normally beautiful face was contracted with worry. Pey'j hated to see her worry so much, he did his best to comfort her but was worried himself.

Mytch sat with his arms around Iris, "The radio said it was simply an isolated incident, that's all, an isolated incident and nothing to worry about. They don't know that she's here."

"I'm sure it was just a coincidence, nothin' more than that." Pey'j said.

"How can we be sure?" Iris said, pulling Jade even closer. The baby's shocking green eyes were looking wide around the room but she didn't fuss at being held so tight. She was smart enough to pick up on the seriousness that was going on around her.

"We can hope." Mytch said, "We don't really know anything else right now."

"Hope?" Iris cried, "Hope? It's not safe here anymore, period. Hope isn't going to do us much good if the DomZ attack!"

Pey'j spoke up, "You know we're prepared fer the worst-case scenario. We're all prepared to fight the damn monsters if they ever show their ugly mugs around here."

Iris could not be convinced, "I want to leave, I want to leave right now. We'll go someplace far away, someplace farther from the DomZ." she said.

Mytch sighed, "I know you do, but the Beluga isn't-"

"I've made up my mind, we're going. One attack is one too many." Iris's mind was set, there was no changing it. "If there's even the slightest chance that my baby is in trouble, I don't want to take it."

Mytch stared hard at her, then a warm smile broke across his face. "You're right," he said, "we can't take the chance that any harm will come to Jade. We'll leave." Mytch bent down and hugged his wife and child tight.

Pey'j watched them and sighed inwardly. He certainly didn't want to risk Jade being hurt either, but he had to look at the situation realistically. It would to take a hell of a lot of work to get the Beluga up and running safely, and now they didn't have the luxury of time that they had before. Mytch and Pey'j were going to have to work fast.

  

"Fuel injection ratio is off by 11.8975412."

"What? How's that possible?" Mytch roared, pounding his fist on the desk. "That's worse than last time!"

"I'm sorry señor, but that's how it worked out." Secundo said.

"Well check it again."

"Checking it again won't do any-"

"Just do it." Mytch snapped back sharply.

"Si señor. Uno momento." Secundo said.

Mytch sat back in his chair and waited for Secundo to finish his diagnostic. He had been working on the Beluga for seven hours straight and nothing he tried would work. He was completely exhausted both physically and emotionally.

"Fuel injection ratio is off by 11.8975412, precisely the same as the last diagnostic." Secundo said.

Mytch collapsed onto his desk, head in hands, "You must be making a mistake somewhere. Somewhere. How could it have gone up?"

"I could run the diagnostic a hundred times but the results will be the same. You're tired señor, get some rest."

"There's no time to rest, no time for anything. We have to get the ship running safely so we can get away from here." Mytch said, talking into his hands.

"I know the situation," Secundo said sympathetically, "but you will make mucho more mistakes if you continue to work in your condition señor."

"I can't give up." Mytch said, "I can't stop."

Secundo gave a holographic sigh, "It's up to you señor, but take your own well being into heart as well. Little Yade will be not be safe if her padre collapse. Promise me you'll get some rest Mytch..." Secundo got no reply. "Mytch? Señor?" Mytch had fallen asleep on his keyboard.

  

Pey'j flopped down into his chair with a huge sigh. He wiped black grease from his snout and looked up at the Beluga. Mechanically, she was sound. The ship would fly when they needed it to. Pey'j only hoped that Mytch would manage to get the problem with the fuel injection working properly for the ship. The Beluga worked on a twin-engine system. Both engines needed a precisely calculated amount of fuel flowing into them in order to launch. An imbalance would result in engine failure and the Beluga would not launch. Worse still, if the imbalance was to great, the engines could catch fire and that'd be the end of the Beluga and whoever was inside.

Pey'j sighed again. He was worn to the bone and felt as though he'd just lost a fight with someone. He had never worked so hard in his life. It was worth it though, to protect Jade he'd do any amount of work.

Pey'j's eyelids began to droop. He began to get up out of his chair to head for bed but fell back into it. The chair would do. Heck, he was so exhausted the floor would do. Slowly, Pey'j's head dropped and he fell asleep.

  

Iris sat on her bed in the lotus position, attempting to lose herself in her mediation. She wanted to not worry about the DomZ, to simply clear her mind and not think about anything. The weight of protecting Jade from the DomZ was finally coming into full realization for her. The true seriousness of the situation did not occur to her until the DomZ actually made their appearance. Deep down she had been hoping this day would never come.

She took a deep breath inward, concentrating on the air filling her lungs. She held her breath in and counted down until she exhaled, letting the air come slowly out of her lungs. She thought she was perfectly calm, not worrying about a thing.

Something wet dropped down onto her lap, surprising her. She looked down and realized it was a tear, her tear. She had been crying and didn't realize it. At the sight of this single tear her emotions let loose. Iris broke down and began to weep.

If the DomZ were to ever get their hands, or whatever they had, on Jade then that would be it. Her life would be over. The baby _was _her life.

No, no. That would never happen. Iris would never let the DomZ get their filthy hands on her daughter at any cost.

Iris reached down and put her hand on her Däi-jo laying on the bed next to her. It was her weapon, a rod used for combat with two energy bolts on the end that could release short blasts. She had trained herself to use it. Ever since her parents were taken by the DomZ she had trained with it. Mytch didn't approve, but that didn't matter to Iris. She would not let herself be taken like her parents and like so many others like them. She was not weak, she was strong.

Iris stopped herself from crying. What was wrong with her? She was ashamed of herself for losing her composure like that. She was better than that. She was ready. If the DomZ came, they wouldn't get her daughter.

From across the room Jade stirred. Then suddenly, she began to cry.

Iris jumped up and rushed to her child, sweeping her up in her arms. "Shhhh. Honey, shhhh. It's okay. Go back to sleep Jade." She couldn't be hungry, Jade had been fed only an hour ago. The child was positively screaming and that worried Jade. "Was it a bad dream Jade? Hmmm? You have a nightmare? Well don't worry, everything will be okay. You've got nothing to worry about."

Iris was not looking into her baby's face at the moment. If she had been she would have seen the brilliant light that flashed forth from her eyes. By the time Iris looked back at Jade the light had faded again. With that, as suddenly as she had started to cry Jade stopped.

"There! There you go! See? All better." Iris said.

Jade had already fallen asleep again and Iris gently laid her back down in her crib. What had that been about? Jade had never done anything like that before, it was very odd behaviour for her. Iris stood over her child and watched her sleep. She seemed so peaceful yet she had been screaming her little head off merely moments ago... It was odd indeed. Iris began to worry again. It was a sign, a sign of something bad for sure. Although she was worried, she was confident nothing would happen to Jade. She would protect her. Herself, Mytch and Pey'j were all here to look out for her.

Not even a mysterious alien race could part a mother from her child. Iris would die before that happened.

  

He had seen it! He had seen it! Shauni! She was in the Paryyan system after all! But he had been wrong about Paryya IV. Wrong, yes. Now he felt Shauni on Paryya III. He was sure now. He had seen the host. Seen it in his dreams, disturbing his rest. A girl. A human child, merely an infant.

The DomZ priest was no longer angry. The DomZ priest was happy. Very happy. The girl. The baby. The baby with black hair. The baby with green eyes. Sleeping, she was. He used his power to drill into her mind. He saw for sure that she was Shauni. The girl was Shauni. Yes, yes, yes. Yes! Shauni was the girl!

He'd been shut out. Something had shut him out of the girl's mind. But he saw. He knew. Shauni!

The DomZ priest willed his faithful DomZ and sent a thought. A simple instruction that couldn't possibly go wrong. "Bring me the girl."

Shauni was his. Centuries of waiting.

The DomZ priest was happy, he would wait no more.


End file.
